Halloween of a Legend
by Cottonmouth25
Summary: While on their journey through Kalos, Volan and the gang attend a Halloween party at the Battle Chateau. The prize for the best voted costume is a mysterious stone that may have something to do with Mega Evolution… and when Team Flare comes a-calling, it's up to the visitors from Unova to give them a scare they won't soon forget! Holiday spinoff of "Flight of a Legend".


_**Halloween of a Legend**_

 **Salutations, greetings, and many great hellos!**

 **Instead of another Christmas special based on the Legendverse this year, I decided to do a Halloween one instead! It's one of my favorite holidays… well, in concept. I haven't gone trick-or-treating in years, myself.**

 **It was tough to get this out with all the schoolwork that's been doing its best to break me, but I managed, somehow. I deserve lots of reviews for this. (*not-so-subtle wink*)**

 **Disclaimer – I do not own the Pokemon franchise, only any and all OCs that appear in this story.**

-.-.-.-.-.

It was the morning of October the 31st when Volan and his traveling companions first caught wind of the event.

"A Halloween party?" the boy from Unova questioned, bending down to more closely examine the holographic bulletin board on which the news was displayed. "I didn't think they celebrated it in Kalos…"

"Can't even make it three steps out of the Pokemon Center without getting stopped by something," grumbled Thrin. She yawned loudly, still tired despite having slept in this morning.

Trevor pushed himself to the front of the group to get a better view of the bulletin board. His eyes lit up with recognition upon seeing the details, and exclaimed, "Oh, at the Battle Chateau! I hear they do it every Halloween. This is the first year I'll be able to go."

Reading further off of the advertisement, Volan recited, "They've got refreshments and dancing… oh, and it also says to ' _vote for which costume is to take the crown, and have the chance to win a captivating piece of Kalos history_ '. Sounds like they're giving away something really good."

Humming absentmindedly, Thrin busied herself with running her fingers through her brown ponytail to dispel any leftover tangles.

"S-So cool!" Trevor gushed, in stark contrast to the Gurei girl's subdued morning haze.

"Oh, can we go?" asked Caitlin, pressing her hands together with excitement. "My sister and I always had fun dressing up and collecting sweets when we were little. It would be really nice to celebrate with all of you."

"Thrin, are you alright with traveling to the Battle Chateau and seeing what this party's about?" Volan asked, turning to his sister. "I know you've been getting excited about challenging the Cyllage City Gym, and the Chateau isn't exactly on our way there."

She frowned and focused her blue eyes, so much like her brother's, on the other two members of their group. She spent a few seconds looking at them and taking in their expressions – Caitlin was straight-faced, but bouncing on the balls of her feet with suppressed excitement, while Trevor stared back at her hopefully. It wasn't long before she finally reached a decision.

"The Gym can wait," she smiled, relaxing into a more casual pose with one hand on her hip. "We could use a break after everything we've been through lately. And it's Halloween, after all."

"Yessssss!" Trevor enthused, punching the air. When Thrin looked at him in surprise, though, he quickly retreated with a crimson hue on his cheeks. Perhaps to save himself from the embarrassment, the orange-haired boy headed toward the Pokemon Center. "Ehehe… j-just going to let Shauna and the others know, I'll be right back…"

Caitlin let out a soft laugh, and Volan allowed himself to smile as Trevor disappeared behind the trademark sliding doors of the Pokemon Center. Despite his normally shy and inoffensive demeanor, Trevor could express jubilation as easily as anyone else when motivated, his stammers originating from pure excitement rather than his usual timidity.

"I'm going in as well," Volan told the girls. "I'd like to see if I can reach Stephan and Bianca on the video phone."

"Hmm? Why?" Caitlin asked curiously.

"Well, we're not going anywhere as long as Trevor's preoccupied, and I promised them in our last Internet chat that I'd call to wish them a Happy Halloween sometime today," he answered. "I won't take too long, I promise."

She accepted that with a smile and replied, "Tell them I said hi."

"Me too," Thrin added. "I hope they picked out good costumes for this year."

Volan nodded to both of them and left for the nearby Center, although not before swiftly pecking Caitlin on the cheek. The doors closed over him just as they'd done for Trevor.

"When does the party start?" Thrin questioned, glancing over at the screen they'd been examining.

After peering at the digital notice advertising the event, Caitlin told her, "Tonight around 6, and it goes until midnight."

"We've got plenty of time to find a place to buy some costumes, then," she replied in relief. "Good. I mean, we didn't exactly pack any for our journey through Kalos."

"It'll be fun to go shopping for some," the blonde maiden said, clapping her hands. "And we'll get the boys to carry ours?"

Thrin smirked. "Obviously!"

The two shared a high-five and laughed.

-.-.-.-.-.

After passing Trevor in the Pokemon Center lobby, who was talking to a hologram of Shauna on his Holo Caster, Volan slotted his coins into the video-phone and waited for someone to pick up. Fortunately, someone did, and allowed Volan his first glimpse in a long time into the familiar world of Unova.

"Hello, Stephan spea– VOLAN! BIANCA, COME HERE QUICK, VOLAN'S ON THE PHONE!"

… Not to mention his first earful into the familiar world of Unova.

"Yeah, thanks for that," he deadpanned, cleaning out his ear with a finger despite knowing full well that it wouldn't stop the ringing.

The much heavier boy on the other end of the call stepped back from the screen and beamed so widely at Volan that his mouth looked in danger of splitting his face. "Volan, what is _up_ , man?! Oh, check out the costume I got for later tonight! Isn't it awesome?!"

"Braaaaaaak! Awesome, awesome!" mimicked his Chatot, who Volan only just noticed was sitting on her master's shoulder.

When Stephan backed further off so that Volan had a full view of him, he could now see that the talkative Normal-and-Flying-type had never looked so appropriate in that position. Indeed, his best friend was wearing a pirate costume – a fancy sea captain's coat, eye patch, hat with a feather in it, the works.

"You picked that just because you had Chatot with you, didn't you," Volan accused good-naturedly.

"Hey, _she's_ the one that picked it out," Stephan pouted, albeit not seriously. "Maybe it reminded her of her time with those _real_ pirates we battled. Anyway, I'm still not denying she's a genius for doing it."

"Genius! Braaaak! Genius!" the bird parroted.

Suddenly, everything happened all at once. Stephan was shoved to the side by an inhumanly-powerful force, Chatot exploded into the air in a flurry of multicolored feathers with an agitated trill, and a bright face framed by straw-yellow hair and dominated by an enormous grin took up the entire video screen.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, Volan~!" cheered Bianca. Due to her proximity to the screen, her voice blared with an added mechanical distortion through the video-phone's speakers, which made Volan instinctively jerk back. "Happy Halloweeeeeeen! Are you having fun over there in Kalos?! Is Caitlin with you?! Have the two of you been to Prism – gah!"

As suddenly as she'd appeared, the perky blonde found herself being pushed out of the camera's view by an irritated Stephan, which allowed Volan a proper view of the room beyond the screen again. Chatot was back on the pirate cosplayer's shoulder, her beak furiously working to reorganize her bedraggled feathers.

"And I thought being woken up by her on _Christmas_ morning was bad," he muttered. "She banged on my door at 8 am today, demanding that we get ready for Hugh's Halloween party tonight. _Tonight_! As in, we have all day!"

"She's probably hyped up on sugar," Volan reasoned, an involuntary shudder passing through his frame. Bianca at Halloween was something he'd never seen for himself but dreaded all the same. "And, hold on, you said Hugh?"

Stephan nodded, the giant feather on his hat flopping back and forth as he did so. "Remember him? About yay tall, hair like a Qwilfish? Named his whole team after the crew from _Ducklett Tales_?"

"Yes, I remember," Volan chuckled – hey, that last fact _was_ amusing. "Who else is going?"

"Oh, all the people we know," Stephan replied nonchalantly. "Will, Trip, Roxie, Skyla, Cheren… Actually, speaking of Cheren – Bianca, you didn't show him your costume!"

The ditzy young woman jumped back onto the screen, this time much farther way, and Volan finally got a good look at the rest of her body. All at once, he was pleased he did and uncomfortably _not_ at the same time. She was wearing a tight-fitting Team Rocket uniform, the trademarked black with the red 'R' on the chest. It consisted of long black gloves, thigh-high boots, a cropped shirt that exposed her belly, and shorts so short they could pass for underwear.

Volan stubbornly fixed his gaze on Bianca's sunny face to prevent it from unconsciously wandering to more inappropriate places, while simultaneously cursing his baser instincts for tempting him in the first place.

"That's an unexpected choice," he commented dryly.

Defying the impossible, Bianca beamed even wider and declared, "To protect the world from devastation, to unite –"

"That's enough, Giovanni wannabe," chuckled Stephan, nudging her in the side. "It is a creative costume, though."

"You think Cheren will like it?" Bianca asked Volan, suddenly dropping her smile for an almost pleading expression.

"Woman," Stephan answered in place of the question's intended recipient, "I think more people than just your boyfriend are going to like it." He shot an indicative glance at her bare midriff for Volan's benefit, in case he didn't catch what he was getting at.

The flustered reaction the remark provoked was as swift as it was inevitable. "HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Bianca screamed, turning red all the way down to her neck.

"But you'd like him to be!" he taunted, splitting his sides with laughter.

Sporting a sly grin, Volan called out, "Prepare for trouble and make it double, matey. Have fun at Hugh's."

He hung up the call right as Bianca lunged at Stephan, thankfully cutting short what would have been an unnecessarily brutal scene.

-.-.-.-.-.

With their newly-purchased costumes all ready to go, the sky was turning a dusky shade of orange when Volan, Thrin, and Caitlin approached the Battle Chateau at… well, dusk. The impressive building loomed high over the shores of the vast lake on which it had been built, its stately design indicating an origin of a more historical time when lords and dukes still presided over Kalos. Indeed, the main attraction of the Battle Chateau involved Trainers duelling in single-Pokemon battles with an otherwise long-forgotten code of chivalry, the only reward involved being an elevation in their own social status.

In this case, though, there was more to look forward to than just Pokemon battles reminiscent of medieval sparring.

A young woman in a maid costume was waiting beside the wooden doors on the other side of the gently arcing bridge – whether that was the usual attire for the staff at the Battle Chateau or if it was in spirit of the holiday, Volan could not tell. She bowed gracefully in welcome when the trio approached.

"Good day to you, Trainers," she greeted them primly, her vague smile reminding Volan slightly of their friend Calem. "I assume you are all here to attend our yearly Halloween festivities."

When they confirmed her assumption, her smile widened a little and her eyes sparkled the tiniest bit. "Ah, I see. You are just in time, as we have begun the event a mere ten minutes ago. Please, do allow me to lead you inside."

Right on cue, the doors opened up as if the maid had pushed them, an ominous creak and a chilly gust accompanying the mysterious action.

"Before you ask," she winked knowingly at the three visitors, "yes, that was indeed part of the festivities. Thank you again for an appropriately spooky welcome, Banette."

On cue, the doll-like Ghost-type appeared, levitating at eye level as it cast its mischievous grin at the visitors and cackled a welcome.

Following the maid inside, they walked past the Banette – who disappeared again and shut the doors behind them – and found themselves in a dark hallway whose walls and floor were made up of solid blocks of stone, much like Shabboneau Castle had been. Torches were attached to the walls every few feet, burning with soft purple flame that provided just enough light to see by but still kept the corridor shrouded in shadow. Their footsteps echoed hollowly on the stone floor, only adding to the spooky atmosphere of the place.

At last, the maid stopped at an intersection in the stone hallways of the creepy castle and gestured to the path that led to the left. "Down there are the changing rooms, so you may get into your costumes," she directed them. "To the left are the lounges and buffet table, where our visitors gather to socially mingle. Each room has a balcony so you may watch the battles taking place on the outdoor field. Later, the dancing and costume contest will also be held on the field. I hope I have been of adequate service to you, young Trainers."

"Thanks," Volan replied sincerely, and was backed up by Thrin and Caitlin.

"You are most welcome," she smiled, and bowed before walking into the shadows from whence they'd come.

The three of them made their way down the hall that led to the changing rooms. Volan went to the room on the left, the entryway being nothing more than an opening in the cold grey wall, while Thrin and Caitlin disappeared into the opposite room. The changing rooms, as Volan discovered, were more well-lit than the halls, but the light provided was still of the ghostly purple variety. He wondered if they'd gotten a Litwick or Lampent to light all the torches this evening.

He got into his outfit quickly and turned to admire himself in the full-length mirror that had helpfully been built into the wall. He'd consulted the selections at the Poke Mart for a long time before finally settling on a scarecrow. It consisted of an intentionally-shabby pair of overalls over the plaid shirt of a farmer, both of which had sleeves that were equally as intentionally too long for his legs and arms. Thin pieces of straw stuck out of the sleeves and a few of the rips in his shirt, and a baggy cloth mask decorated with button eyes and a crooked, stitched-up grin was worn over his head. A wide-brimmed, battered straw hat was perched on top to complete the image.

After being let out of his Poke Ball, Edgar let out a dry chuckle. " _Lookin' good, farm boy. But frankly, as a Murkrow, it must be said dat dis scarecrow ain't exactly scary._ "

"Who's the one that agreed to be part of the costume?" Volan snarked back through the scratchy fabric of the mask.

" _Hey, youse promised me there'd be food,_ " the Murkrow shrugged. " _Youse made me an offer I ain't gonna refuse. You'd make a good Honchkrow, y'know?_ "

"Should've known I could appeal to your stomach, you Pignite," his Trainer smirked.

Stepping outside the changing room with deliberately stiff movements that he hoped were scarecrow-like, he ran into Thrin in her Halloween get-up. The vampire costume she wore had all the classics – expensive-looking suit, matching pants, fake fangs, and bat ears. Less traditionally, though, the cape was attached to her arms as a pair of Noivern-style wings, while the cowl was secured around her neck with a golden chain that prevented it from being jostled too much whenever she moved her arms. She'd even let her brown-blond hair down and combed it to look neater, and put makeup on to turn her face stark white.

"Don't walk like that, it'th creepy," she said around the fangs in her mouth.

"I'm doing something right, then," he retorted. "But for you, trying to scare people by announcing your intentions to suck them dry will be difficult when you sound like you have a lisp."

Caitlin stepped out next, her costume that of a witch. With them having obtained their costumes in a section meant for older teens like themselves, it was most definitely of the cute variety. Case in point, Volan thought she looked _extremely_ pretty in that dress. It was black with a short purple skirt further edged with black, held onto her shoulders by a pair of thin straps. Purple stockings and long black gloves covered up her legs and forearms, respectively. Her shoes sported gold buckles and her extensive train of hair played host to a pointy witch's hat sitting on top. When she flashed Volan a grin, the white of her teeth stood out magnificently against her black lip gloss, making his heart throb suddenly enough to jolt him.

"Well?" she implored her boyfriend, her soft voice somehow more tantalizing than usual. "Aren't you going to tell me what you think?"

"I'm pretty thure you broke him," Thrin was quick to joke.

"S-Stunning," Volan tripped over his own tongue in his eagerness to speak. "Actually, I… I actually wish I wasn't looking at you through a pair of eyeholes right now. They're obstructing what I'm positive is a vision of perfection."

Reacting to the compliment with a coy smile, the pretend sorceress reached out to tap him on the nose with her wand. "Too bad you're wearing that cloth over your face, because I think you deserve a kiss for saying so."

"You're the magic one, can't you just make it disappear?" he teased her back.

"Party now, flirt later, lovebirdth," a certain Gurei girl rolled her eyes. "Let'th go find Trevor and thee what he and the otherth are going ath."

They started down the corridor back in the direction from which they'd come, Thrin leading the way while Caitlin took Volan's arm so the pair of them could walk together. The maid had said the hall opposite the one that led to the changing rooms would lead them to the lounge where the party was going on, and indeed, the farther they walked, the louder the sounds of Trainers chatting and laughing amongst each other became.

A pair of mahogany doors adorned with elaborate handles stood in their way, from behind which the noise was emanating the most strongly. Thrin pushed the doors open, and they took their first steps into the lounge area – it was a warm and cozy place decorated more like someone's living room than part of a sophisticated establishment drawing its origins from Kalosian history. The light in the room came from the chandelier up above, which, like the rest of the building, cast the room in a dim purple glow that in this case felt as comforting as it did unnerving. Orange and black streamers were cast around the room from the chandelier's metal limbs. Black balloons with Pumpkaboo faces were tied to chairs around the room, and Ghost-type Pokemon dolls sat in a row on the mantelpiece. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the left side of the room had been thrown wide open, allowing moonlight to paint the floor silver and granting access to the balconies. On top of all of this, a large number of Trainers stood in groups in various places around the lounge, occasionally switching places to go mingle with others – and the costumes, incidentally, were incredibly varied and gave Volan and the girls more than enough to admire.

" _Nice pad, yeah?_ " Edgar marveled.

"They did a great job decorating the place," Caitlin commented, reaching out to touch one of the balloons.

"See anyone we recognize?" asked Volan. He glanced from person to person, taking a moment to note what or who each was dressed as before moving to the next.

"Yeth, acthually," Thrin spoke up, pointing at the people in question as Volan and Caitlin both looked. "The Crobatman on the far thide of the room is Ath, and Therena ith… Poithon Thnivy I think."

"Take those fangs out, you sound like a cartoon character," the older of the two siblings snorted derisively.

She was not wrong, though – when Volan got a closer look, the Crobatman talking amicably with Poison Snivy was most definitely Ash and Serena. Seeing them together was eyebrow-raising enough – he hadn't even known they were acquainted – but their costumes were another matter. Ash had gotten the dark purple superhero suit, cape, and bat-eared mask right on the mark. Serena had curled her hair and dyed it scarlet, and wore a slinky green sleeveless dress reminiscent of the Grass-type serpent from Unova.

"Volan! Thrin! Oh, you both made it!" Serena gushed upon seeing her Unovan friends approach. She then noticed Caitlin and smiled without missing a beat. "Hi, and who are you?"

The maiden-turned-witch introduced herself to both Ash and Serena for the first time, complimenting them on their beautiful costumes, to which they gleefully returned the favor by commenting on how great she and the Gurei siblings looked. During this exchange, Volan noticed for the first time that Serena had her arms wrapped around one of Ash's, tugging him close enough for her partially-exposed chest to be pushing intimately into his shoulder. If the subtle pink coloration on her cheeks was any indication, this was intentional.

"Have you seen Trevor or any of our other friends around?" Thrin was asking, having finally abandoned the fake vampire fangs.

"No… maybe they're at the buffet table in the other room?" Serena guessed, a little frown appearing as she thought about it.

"Let's check there, then," decided Volan, earning a nod each from his companions, Edgar especially.

" _I could go fer a bite or three, couldn't youse?_ " the Murkrow said, and nipped at Volan's mask to guarantee a reaction.

Thrin correctly picked up on his growing irritation despite the scarecrow mask and laughed, "Starting to regret making him a part of your costume, huh?"

Five out of the six sentient beings taking part in the discussion laughed, and the odd one out was obviously Volan. He, Thrin, and Caitlin all wished Ash and Serena farewell on their way out the set of doors on the other side of the room, which served as the entryway into another hall that would take them to the buffet.

"C'mon Serena, let's go watch one of the battles!" Ash exclaimed, heading for the nearest balcony.

"Don't leave without me, Crobat boy," she giggled. The cosplaying villainess tapped him flirtatiously on the nose and guided his arm to rest around her slim waist, winking at him as she did so. As she led him off, the Kantonian boy had a notably befuddled expression on his face.

Chuckling as they left them to their own devices, Volan and the girls headed out of the room and into a hallway that was noticeably more luxurious than the stone ones they'd previously traversed. It, like the lounge, was also interspersed with Trainers, some with drinks in their hands as they excitedly compared costumes. Volan himself got a number of positive remarks about his, prompting him to do his stiff scarecrow walk just for fun. A couple of younger Trainers ran past Thrin, pretending to be scared, and she flared out her cape-wings and did her best to cackle evilly after them. Once they were gone, she joined in the laughter that Volan, Caitlin, and Edgar showered her with.

This was just so much fun… something about this holiday really united people under the premise of dressing up and scaring others, and inexplicably brought out the energetic child in each of them.

They passed through another set of doors and entered the dining room, which was decorated in pretty much the same way as the lounge area – with appropriately-colored streamers and balloons, and ghostly purple light and scary Pokemon plushies. The far wall, as before, was taken up by floor-to-ceiling windows that led out onto balconies overseeing the main battlefield. The room itself seemed significantly larger, but maybe that was only because the only furniture in sight was the elongated buffet table. Covered in a black cloth, the table was piled high with every sort of sweet imaginable as well as more than a few baked goods, although with a Halloween twist to them. The brownies had edible Ariados legs sticking out of them and the cake slices were drenched in a blood-like Cheri-flavored syrup, to name only a couple. There were even some traditional autumn desserts such as pumpkin pie, the smell of which was enough to make Volan's stomach speak its mind. Bowls of what Volan assumed to be punch were set out as well.

There were many more Trainers milling around in here than in the lounge, and as such, the noise was substantially louder as they gleefully socialized with one another over the food and drinks. Upon scanning the costumes they showed off, Volan recognized a good number of them – as well some generic costumes including a knight, a mummy, and a Frankenstein's monster, he spotted various outfits that wouldn't look out of place at a convention. One scan of the room showcased highlights such as Green Lampent, Bewearman, Bugs Bunnelby, the princess from _Froslass_ , Wreck-it Rhydon, Darth Feraligatr and Admiral Accelgor from _Omastar Wars_ , Davy Jellicent, Doublink and Zeldoetta, what appeared to be a black Charizard and a Greninja with crutches (Volan didn't get the connection, if any), and a group of six as the Nordic stars of _How to Train Your Hydreigon_.

And that was just the tip of the Avalugg! Even as Volan stared at the variety, Thrin and Caitlin were similarly enamored by the wide range of costumes.

"It's going to be difficult to choose a winner for the contest they're holding here," Volan remarked through his scarecrow mask. "I see ten worthy candidates just by looking in one direction."

"Where's Trevor?" questioned Thrin. She stood on her tip-toes to try and peer over the heads of passersby, spreading out her 'wings' for balance. "I see a few groups of five, but I can't tell if it's him and the rest…"

"Why don't we check over by the buffet table?" Caitlin offered. "I, for one, would like to at least get a drink."

"And Edgar is eyeing the food anyway," added Volan, bouncing the shoulder on which his Murkrow was perched. "I'll go with you."

Arm-in-arm again, the witch and scarecrow cosplayers made their way over to the table, receiving and returning compliments from the Trainers they passed along the way. When they made it, Edgar immediately fluttered off to indulge in the berry selection while he and Caitlin got cups and began to browse the refreshments.

Volan had just poured himself some dark blue Oran berry punch when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he found himself face-to-face with probably the _strangest_ bunch of characters he'd seen all night, and _that_ was saying something. There were four, consisting of a short girl with a brightly-colored futuristic outfit and long pink hair, a giant mechanical Psyduck, a flamboyantly-dressed superhero, and a smaller boy with claws and green skin. The one feature the crazy ensemble shared, though, was the collective knowing grin directed at Volan from four different angles.

"Can I… help you…?" he asked hesitantly.

His question prompted Caitlin to turn around, curious as to who he was talking to. When she saw, she spent a second staring in disbelief before gasping aloud.

"Trevor!" she exclaimed, to Volan's utter surprise. "Goodness, I didn't recognize you for a second!"

"So, what do you guys think?" asked the green-skinned boy, who Volan could only _now_ see was indeed Trevor. "Isn't our group costume awesome? Guess who we are!"

Before Volan could even open his mouth, Shauna – now with the neon colors to go with her personality – squealed and told him, "I'm Starmiefire, Calem's Fletchling, Tierno's Psyborg, and Trevor is Ultra Beast Boy!"

Volan chuckled, their bizarre collective presence suddenly making a lot more sense to him. "Oh yes, that old television show spinoff of Crobatman. I have to say, now that you've told me, I can see that you did a great job."

"Thanks, V-Meister!" Tierno winked the eye that wasn't covered by fake machinery. "But hey, here's a question for ya – have you seen Sera? She's supposed to be with us still."

The Gurei boy glanced at Caitlin, only for her to shrug – she'd never met the dark, demure, perpetually-burning-with-anger-on-the-inside rival of Thrin's.

"Sorry, no," he was forced to deny. "What's the fifth member of your little group… Mandibuzz? Wouldn't she be easy to find if she fit your theme?"

A carefully-measured voice with a familiar vague undertone of annoyance suddenly reached their ears, answering Volan's question. "That's why I'm not. Because Shauna's idea was stupid."

There she was – dressed in the same depressing clothes as ever. Curiously though, besides the usual spiked collars around her neck and wrist, Sera sported a pair of new accessories. Namely, a Liepard tail clipped to her skirt and matching ears in her short black hair. Her mask of neutrality remained the same as ever, although her midnight-blue eyes had an extra spark of danger in them tonight. _I dare you to comment on my costume. I DARE you._

"Sera," Volan greeted politely, although a bit stiffly. "You look… nice."

"Save it," she said in monotone. "A hooded cloak and bone apron like the ones they implored me to wear are not something I'm comfortable with. I went with this" – she gestured to her ears and tail – "because it's simple and innocuous."

"Not to judge a book by its cover," Caitlin spoke up softly, her voice a bit curious, "but wouldn't such a costume be suitable for you?" She nodded at what Sera was already wearing, namely the copious amounts of black present in said clothes.

"I want to look unapproachable, not like an edgelord," Sera bit out. She closed her eyes to collect herself, then continued without the harshness, "My choice of costume is none of your concern. Go join the other fairy princesses if you want to talk about fashion."

"I thought you would look good as the fifth member of our group," Calem-as-Fletchling piped up. "But you look nice now, too."

She didn't respond to the masked boy's diplomatic remark, just looked the other way with a disinterested huff. A faint hint of color could be seen on her face the second before she turned, although that was most likely just a trick of the light.

"Ooh, hey, we should go out on the balcony!" Shauna squeaked, jumping up and down excitedly. "I think the voting for best costume is gonna be soonatone! I can't wait to see what laprize they're offering!"

Vibrating with excitement, she grabbed the nearest person's arm – which happened to be Trevor – and dragged him off toward the open windows. The faux Ultra Beast Boy had a blush that glowed through his green face paint as he let himself be led by his excitable friend.

Other people were starting to head outside as well, so Volan and the girls followed suit. They found themselves standing in the crisp, cool autumn air under a black sky speckled with stars, in a really good position right up against the balcony's railing. This allowed them a perfect view of the magnificent battlefield that lay spread out before them a couple of stories below. Slowly but steadily, more Trainers crowded around them, and Volan could see that other balconies along the wall of the chateau were being gradually filled as well. He felt himself pressed up between Thrin and Caitlin, but not enough to feel claustrophobic.

In the middle of the battlefield, the maid from before and an elderly man in an old-fashioned suit and coattails stood to address the great many guests to their fine battling establishment.

"Greetings, honored guests!" the maid called out with a bow, her words silencing the last few murmurs of discussion between Trainers. "I bid you all a Happy Halloween, and give you my thanks for choosing to celebrate the occasion with us at the Battle Chateau."

Now that everyone had fallen silent, the young woman's words easily resonated out to them in the chilly air. The man beside her stepped forward at the conclusion of her short introduction, raising a fist to cough into it slightly before continuing.

"As the owner of the Battle Chateau for many years, I, too, feel it behooves us to express our gratitude," he said, voice carrying forth with a strength that belied his advanced age. "We have always sought to entertain visiting Trainers, especially at this special time, and so this annual celebration of a much-beloved holiday has always been a pleasure to organize for young ones such as yourselves. Seeing such an astonishing variety of costumes each year shows to me that you Trainers are a creative, resourceful, and individually unique folk, and I am always happy to see such qualities shine brighter than the stars on this very night."

A round of applause spread through the gathered Trainers at his eloquent speech. A smile spread across Volan's face behind his mask as he joined in with the clapping, greatly appreciative of the chateau owner's kind words.

"Up until midnight," the maid picked up where her older companion had left off, "we will allow you the opportunity to pick one costume out of the many that your fellow Trainers are wearing, and to nominate that costume as the best of them all. At the end of the night, we will collect your votes and determine this year's winner. And the prize will be…"

Another girl in a maid outfit hurried onto the battlefield with a cloth carefully held in her open palms. She transferred it to the hands of the Battle Chateau owner, bowed, and then left just as quickly as she'd arrived, hands picking up her lengthy skirt so she wouldn't trip over it as she ran.

Dramatically, the owner tore the cloth away to reveal the prize, proclaiming, "The winner shall be awarded this priceless artifact from Kalos' rich history, said to be the key to unlocking the once-forgotten art of Mega Evolution!"

 _Mega Evolution!_ The familiar words rang true in Volan's mind, and he leaned over the railing to get a look at the sparkling pearl-like stone that the owner displayed to the crowd. It sat on a small cushion in his open hand, held high above his head on display for the gathered Trainers. Whispers and murmurs spread all around him, some of them in confusion but others in wonder.

"If one of us could win that stone, we could help Professor Sycamore with his research!" Thrin whispered excitedly.

"And we could finally learn more about Mega Evolution – we've known about it for a long time now, but it's just as much a mystery now as it was then," Volan noted, harkening back to the few times in Unova he'd laid eyes on a Mega Evolved Pokemon.

 ** _BLAM!_**

Some kind of energy beam lanced out from nowhere to strike the field, producing an enormous plume of smoke and dust where it hit. Trainers all over screamed with shock and ducked down instinctively, while the two still on the field staggered and fell from the tremors that resulted. Expecting trouble, Volan, Thrin, and Caitlin all tensed and let their hands fly instinctively to their Poke Balls. They tilted their heads up in unison, toward the direction the beam had come from.

There, on the roof of the chateau against the light of the full moon, were four figures striking identical poses.

"We are Team Flare!" they chorused as one. "The fashionable team to inherit the earth! The bringers of destruction in stylish form! F to the L to the A to the R to the E! Go Team Flare!"

"Our days of ridicule are over!" shouted one of the women. "With these powerful new Pokemon straight from the admins, we will earn ourselves respect by stealing that Keystone for the glory of Team Flare!"

"And then we will lay waste to the Battle Chateau as a sneak preview of what Team Flare has planned for the rest of Kalos!" one of the men added.

The shell-shocked Trainers were already snapping out of their fearful daze and running back into the building for shelter when the four Team Flare grunts raised their arms and shouted altogether, "USE HYPER BEAM!"

Their four Pokemon – a Dragonite, Garchomp, Metagross, and Salamence – swooped down from above and fired the lethal dark blasts from their mouths, blowing huge chunks out of the battlefield and the sides of the building. The building shook as if caught in an earthquake, prompting a new round of screams from the Trainers now hiding inside.

Volan whipped around to fix Thrin and Caitlin in a serious stare. They stared back, their faces stony with resolve and their eyes burning blue and green with determination. No matter their reservations, they were the only Trainers here powerful enough to take on the newly-upgraded Team Flare.

A Poke Ball expanding in her fist, Caitlin cried, "Gothitelle, please assist us and levitate us down to the battlefield with Telekinesis!"

In a flash of cerulean light, the Astral Body Pokemon appeared and enveloped them all in her psychic powers, carrying them off the balcony to do battle with Team Flare. Although the vast majority of the bystanders were safely inside the chateau by now, they still had an audience – Ash, Serena, Trevor, and the others all watched with varying amounts of horror and uncertainty as their Unovan friends descended to face the terrorist organization head-on.

Their bold action did not go unnoticed by the villains that still stood high above the land of their future conquest. Four pairs of eyes widened behind ludicrous red sunglasses as they recognized their challengers.

"The infernal Trainers that crushed us on Route 4!" yelled Grunt One.

"None of you will live to regret the day you crossed the great Team Flare!" screamed Grunt Four.

 _I'm regretting it already,_ Volan said to himself with a roll of his eyes. No matter how dangerous Team Flare was, these particular four were simply too ridiculous.

"Gothitelle, thank you. Please return," Caitlin spoke softly, and took out another Poke Ball. "You will be helping out in this battle instead. Swoobat, please lend your assistance!"

With a cheery chatter, the cute Psychic-and-Flying-type materialized and perched atop the tip of her witch's hat.

As for the Gureis, they knew that they had no Pokemon currently on them that could face up to a quartet of pseudo-Legendary monstrosities. However, after the incident at Professor Sycamore's lab, the good professor had equipped their Pokedexes with a most useful function. They took out the holographic devices now, the screens expanding out upon activation.

"Teleporter, send Goryn!" Volan ordered.

"Teleporter, send Jet!" Thrin said at the same time.

Their Pokedexes glowed brightly, and the screens rippled. Two Poke Balls emerged from out of the rippling holograms, quickly coalescing into solid objects as the automatic teleporter installed in the professor's lab responded to their call and transported their more powerful Pokemon.

"Goryn, show no mercy!" cried Volan, and opened the capsule to reveal his Hydreigon.

"What he said, Jet!" his sister added, and her Cofagrigus appeared.

The battle began, but it was the Team Flare grunts who called the first move. They repeated their command from before – "Use Hyper Beam!"

"LARUUUUUUU!" Dragonite screeched.

"GARRRCHAAA!" Garchomp roared.

"MEH TUH!" Metagross boomed.

"BOOOOOHMA!" Salamence howled.

All at once, the four crackling energy blasts soared from the beasts' mouths and closed the distance remarkably fast between them and their targets. But Thrin, at least was ready, and she had Jet guard his comrades-in-arms from taking massive damage. The metallic Ghost-type retreated into his shell and let the Normal-type beams strike him, blowing a massive crater in the surrounding concrete but otherwise failing to even scratch him.

"Good!" Thrin praised, showing her vampire fangs in a savage grin as she started to get into the battle. "Now, show them what they're missing – the power of a real Hyper Beam!"

(Miraculously, her fang-induced lisp had vanished as soon as the action began. The irony of the situation was not lost on Volan.)

The headpiece on Jet's sarcophagus snapped back open, and his red eyes gleamed brightly as he launched his own Hyper Beam from his newly-revealed sharp-toothed smirk. The blast swept across the area, hitting each of the enemy Pokemon as it passed. Explosions of smoke bloomed wherever energy met skin or scales.

"Swoobat, use Calm Mind," Caitlin requested.

In response, her Pokemon's black wings flapped noisily as their owner touched down on the ground to begin its meditation. A red aura flared to light around it, indicating an increase in its stats.

"When you're done, I need you to use Calm Mind again," the witch cosplayer stated politely, getting only a silent nod from Swoobat.

Volan looked across to Thrin and called, "Let's protect Swoobat and take the initiative. I think Caitlin has something planned."

She nodded firmly, nerves steeled for the uphill battle ahead. "Jet, give them a taste of Will-o-Wisp!"

" _Time to play with fire,_ " the sarcophagus Pokemon chuckled darkly, and conjured the eerie blue flames with only a few gestures of his shadowy hands.

"No you don't!" screamed Grunt Two, throwing her arm out as she gave a command. "Metagross, wipe them out with a Flash Cannon!"

The immense robot let out a roar and opened its metallic mouth, sucking in white streaks of energy before letting it out in a silvery blast. The Will-o-Wisps were snuffed out like weakly flickering candles in its wake.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Breath!" ordered Grunt Three.

"Salamence, Flamethrower!" Grunt Four added.

With furious cries, the two Dragon-and-Flying-types opened their jaws wide and belched out either a stream of energized pink fire or a torrent of good old-fashioned flame. They seemed to combine into one, creating a crackling tidal wave of burning orange and pink that surged forward to engulf its victims.

"Break it up with Tri Attack, Goryn!" Volan commanded.

"Help out with Shadow Ball!" Thrin jumped in.

The Hydreigon and the Cofagrigus acted, all four of their collective mouths forming a different sphere of elemental power that they then launched at the incoming wave. They struck together, tearing massive holes in the curtain of multicolored flame and managing to scatter most of it. Embers rained down on them, and they flinched, but a little pain was fine as long as they weren't being overwhelmed.

"Dark Pulse on the Metagross!" hollered Volan.

"Dreeeeeiii!" Goryn let out a hissing roar and released a roiling black beam from his central head.

"Hit the Garchomp with Will-o-Wisp!" the younger Gurei screamed soon after.

"Cofa!" Jet confirmed, and called more ghostly flames into being.

The targeted Pokemon were hit at the same time, their evil masters gritting their teeth and growling with frustration as they watched the attacks land. Metagross took the Dark Pulse directly to its head, the beam splitting into five parts as it pushed the titanic steel monster back. Garchomp threw its head back and screeched as blue fire bombarded its sensitive scales, several burns now inflicted upon it. While the explosions lit up the night, Caitlin and Swoobat hid behind the aggressors, biding their time.

"I've had it with you!" Grunt One howled. "Garchomp, Dragon Claw!"

Squinting angrily through the pain, the landshark swung its claws outwards and ran at Goryn, a deadly green glow now present around its sharp fins.

Thrin saw the trouble her brother and his meek Hydreigon were in, and knew she had to act. "Jet! Nail it with Hyper Beam!"

She knew she couldn't use the overwhelmingly powerful attack too often, lest it drain all of Jet's stamina and leave the spectre unable to fight on. But for now, the Cofagrigus came through for her a second time, the Hyper Beam searing the very air on its collision course with Garchomp's head. The beam struck, and Garchomp went teetering dazedly off to the side before it could slash at its target.

But Team Flare wasn't done – Grunt Four bellowed over the explosion, "Give it a Dragon Rush, Salamence!"

"BOOOOHHH!" the dragon boomed in response. Its form became enveloped with a strange sort of purple light, taking the form of a skeletal dragon with its wings and jaws open wide as it screeched down to immolate its target.

About to order Goryn to defend himself, Volan was bracing himself for impact when…!

"Iron Tail, Pikachu!"

*SLAM!* Something small and yellow streaked between Goryn and Salamence and slammed its metal-sheathed appendage into its head. Regardless of the newcomer's size, the force was enough to bring Salamence down and lose the concentration necessary to maintain its prepared assault. Even as the flying lizard struggled to stand, a fourth Trainer in a Crobatman costume came rushing to the aid of Volan, Thrin, and Caitlin – Ash!

"What are you doing here?" Caitlin asked with great bewilderment.

"You guys have got the right idea!" Ash explained, his voice coming out passionately for a cause he believed in. "I'm not going to sit by and watch these bad guys do this evil stuff! Aren't we, Pikachu?"

"Piiiii-KA!" his ever-present partner squeaked confidently, a few sparks running along its tail as it deactivated its previous attack.

"Not to be rude, but are you crazy?" Thrin demanded, her cape unfurling as she flung her arms out to the sides. "Volan and I are the Heroes of Unova, Caitlin's an Elite Four member, but you're just an average guy! How do we know you can handle yourself against Team Flare?"

In true Crobatman fashion, Ash declared, "I might not be the hero the Battle Chateau wants, but I'm the hero the Battle Chateau needs! Let's take these crooks down, Pikachu!"

"Brats!" spat Grunt Three. "Dragonite, Wing Attack!"

The pudgy reptile spread its wings, which glowed and lengthened to twice their original span, but Pikachu's Quick Attack hit it in its ample gut before it could take off, and it doubled over with a loud wheeze.

The four Flare grunts cried out in outrage, their fists clenched and shaking madly with barely-repressed rage. They planted their feet in defensive postures, while their pseudo-Legendary Pokemon formed a threatening wall in front of them, ready to continue the fight at their command.

"No! We _will_ get that Keystone!" Grunt One erupted. "Hyper Beam!"

"HYPER BEAM!" the other three grunts echoed.

"Fire Blast!" Volan shouted.

"Shadow Ball!" Thrin ordered.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash finished.

The dark beams shot out from the Pokemon of Team Flare, and from the opposite side came a star-shaped rush of flames, a huge shadowy orb with a white core, and a jagged blast of pure lightning. The attacks met in the middle, the collision causing a shockwave that swept all the dust off the battlefield in one go. At first, neither side gave an inch, but then the four Hyper Beams punched through the resistance and rapidly closed the rest of the distance.

Then Caitlin's eyes gleamed, and she stepped out of hiding to stand strong beside the others. "Swoobat, now! Psychic!"

The fluttering of leathery wings snapped in Volan's ears, and the blue-and-white flier zipped past them to meet the incoming Hyper Beams. Its eyes glowing, Swoobat let out a screech and flared out its wings, creating a super-strong wave of transparent blue psychic energy that rushed out to knock aside everything in its path. The advancing barrier swept through the beams and slammed into the enemy Pokemon with enough strength to knock them off their feet.

"Those accumulated Calm Minds paid off," commented Thrin, and there was no way Volan could disagree.

Frustration building and fuelling their fury, the enraged Team Flare grunts advanced forward a few paces, an action mimicked by their bruised Pokemon. The Dragonite, Metagross, Salamence, and Garchomp were all visibly damaged but still alive and kicking. It was Volan's turn to take a defensive step back, clenching his teeth as he quickly realized, for all their silliness, these Team Flare lackeys were really holding their own against them this time around…

But wait. As the dust thrown into the air from the Psychic attack began to clear, Volan could see two shadowy silhouettes appearing from out of the gloom behind Team Flare…

Thinking they were more enemies, he cringed and readied himself for an uphill battle. But that wasn't really necessary.

"Your lack of subtlety disturbs me, Team Flare!" the one dressed up as Darth Feraligatr declared in a decidedly masculine voice. "You know what this is?"

In a different voice that was definitely female, the one playing Admiral Accelgor delightedly finished for him, "IT'S A TRAP!"

And with that, they flung off their costumes – to reveal the distinctive uniforms of none other than the Masked Heroes of Kalos underneath!

The grunts reacted to the appearance of the Masked Heroes with complete shock, staggering backwards and flailing their arms for a second before balancing themselves. And while Volan and the rest did not react quite as spectacularly as Team Flare did, they were all similarly floored.

"Mega Gallade, to me!" decreed the knight in shining white armor, Gallade Cloak. "Take the Metagross and Garchomp with your Psycho Cut!"

The magnificent form of Mega Gallade, plunged down from the night sky to stand impressively beside its masked master. The edges of its blade-arms shining with intense pink radiance, Mega Gallade blazed forward with a swish of its cape and pierced the night with blinding twin slashes. It stopped, and the light from its arms faded, at the same time the two Team Flare Pokemon keeled over and collapsed.

"Go, Mega Garchomp!" announced the beauty in the image of a beast, Garchomp Blade. "Denounce them with your Stone Edge!"

In much the same fashion as Mega Gallade, Mega Garchomp dropped down like a meteor and landed with a slamming of its sickle-shaped arms into the ground. The impact sent a series of luminous blue crystalline formations spiking up from underground to nail the second pair of enemy Pokemon. Dragonite and Salamence dropped like stones and lay still next to their fallen comrades.

The four grunts screamed with a mix of outrage and terror at the show of strength the Masked Heroes had treated them to. Frantically, they recalled their fallen Pokemon and stumbled away from their assailants, only to be quickly reminded of the presence of others when a Shadow Ball struck the ground at their feet. They whipped around frantically to see the faces of Volan, Thrin, Ash, and Caitlin all smirking triumphantly at them, their Pokemon displaying similarly smug expressions.

"You might have won today, but Team Flare remains undefeated!" Grunt Two screamed with anger. "Keep your Keystone – Team Flare will soon have enough power to eliminate you all and rule the world in your absence!"

Grunt One snapped into a rigid pose and stated, "And now, we will run away in style! Long live Team Flare!"

And with that, the four red-suited lackeys pushed past Volan and the rest and disappeared into the Battle Chateau, probably because there wasn't any other feasible exit. With Team Flare's departure, the Trainers they'd left behind were left staring after them in bewilderment.

"… That happened," Thrin finally said.

"For some reason, I expected them to say something about blasting off again…" Ash mused.

Caitlin simply blinked, unable to tear her confused gaze away from the superheroes that had, in her eyes, randomly appeared to save the day.

Garchomp Blade and Gallade Cloak approached just them, both of them wearing satisfied smiles – the only facial features that could be seen from underneath their showy helmets.

"Trainers of Kalos, it is with great pleasure that we, the Masked Heroes, thank you for your assistance in battle!" announced Garchomp Blade, brushing some dust off of her dark purple body armor. "If it weren't for you holding them off before we got here, they'd undoubtedly have stolen the Keystone or done something else unspeakably evil!"

"To be honest, we're lucky it was you that came to confront them," confessed Thrin, sounding sheepish. "When you first appeared, we thought you were just Professor Sycamore's assistants in cosplay."

The superheroes froze for a moment, before laughing good-naturedly as if nothing had happened. (Later, they would be extremely thankful that their masks prevented people from seeing how white their faces had turned.)

"Thanks for the help," Volan gratefully exclaimed. "Thanks to you, I'd say we showed them a battle scary enough to be worthy of Halloween itself."

"No need for that, citizen!" Gallade Cloak proclaimed dramatically, swishing his cape. "Knowing that Kalos is safe once again is reward enough! Masked Heroes, out!"

The two heroes and their partner Pokemon crouched slightly, then jumped astoundingly high to land on the roof of the chateau. They stood there, outlined against the moon for a second, and then they jumped again and vanished from sight.

Just after Volan, Thrin, and Caitlin thanked their respective Pokemon for the job well done and returned them, the sound of flapping wings reached their ears and Edgar came melting out of the black sky to land comfortably on Volan's shoulder.

" _So, what'd I miss?_ " he cawed.

-.-.-.-.-.

With all the excitement for the night done and over with, the party was allowed to resume. The last event of the night before the owner of the winning costume was presented with the Keystone was a dance out on the battlefield.

Even on Halloween night, the Battle Chateau held fast to its traditions, and a leisurely waltz was playing as people paired off and spun each other slowly around the field. Of course, it wasn't a picture-perfect ballroom dance – frequent yelps could be heard as Ash continually stepped on Serena's feet, and Shauna was nothing short of chaotic as she enthusiastically dragged Trevor around – but there wasn't a single frown of discontent anywhere to be found. Everyone was relaxed and happy after the panic Team Flare had brought with them, glad to be able to enjoy the festivities again.

Well… almost everyone.

Sera fixed Calem in a hard stare as she placed her hand in his, accepting against her better judgement his offer to dance. "This doesn't make us friends," she stated bluntly. "And if you try anything, I'll throw you into the lake."

"Of course not," Calem-as-Fletchling confirmed sincerely, his bland smile never faltering.

The dark-clad girl huffed and reluctantly let him put his arm around her waist, the two of them soon falling into step alongside the other dancers. Calem kept smiling at her, and she kept staring neutrally back, wondering if his face ever got tired of holding that stupid expression – privately making fun of her Liepard costume, that was probably it. Finally, though, he closed his eyes as if giving himself to the music. That was when Sera let the corner of her mouth quirk upwards the tiniest bit, finally admitting to herself that dancing with Calem wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Elsewhere, Thrin and Tierno were dancing along to the music, the former letting the latter lead her along – not because it was traditionally his job to lead, but because he was just a lot more experienced at dancing than she was.

"I'll bet you're loving thith right now," Thrin said at one point, showing her fangs in a grin.

"Actually, I'm more nervous than you think," Tierno laughed, his faux-mechanical eye seeming to glint with mirth. "I haven't done much ballroom dancing before. Not really my style."

The vampire chuckled along with the giant metal Psyduck and helped him further along the dance floor in silence. They passed two very familiar faces as they did so, but said faces were too busy flirting with one another in low voices to return the greeting that Thrin furtively sent their way. She rolled her eyes at them again – _I swear they'll never change,_ she thought.

Volan and Caitlin, the couple in question, had their arms around each other as they twirled in time with the music with everyone else. The Gurei boy had taken his mask off – there was no point in a romantic dance with his beloved if his face was covered. Her gloved hands behind his neck, and his grasping her waist, they dipped their heads close to each other and reveled in each their closeness. The people around them faded away into nothing, as right now they had eyes for no one but each other.

"Did I ever tell you that you look beautiful as an evil sorceress?" Volan asked her quietly. His gaze flicked downward to admire her dress, a soft smile appearing as he took in the lovely sight.

"I picked it because _I_ thought it looked cute," Caitlin corrected him, although her cheeks were glowing with heat. "But be careful of what you say, sweetie, or I'll turn you into a Politoed."

His sapphire eyes twinkled at her behind his glasses. "There's no need for that. You already have me under your spell."

"Right where I want you," she replied, her voice and smile becoming almost uncharacteristically sly.

Lips painted black gently claimed his as their own when they met under the brim of the maiden's hat, and their hands tightened their grip on one another as they instinctively moved closer in their embrace. After a few lingering moments, they broke apart and continued the dance where they'd left off, smiling as they felt the tingling sensation gradually fade from their lips. Volan never looked away from her, not once for as long as they remained on the dance floor, making sure to treasure this well-earned moment with his dear Caitlin.

For once, there were no thoughts of battles or criminals or world-shattering revelations to occupy their minds. Halloween only came once a year, and so this night was special. Tonight was a night to have fun and unwind, and perhaps share a moment of intimacy or two. Tomorrow, it'd be back to the Kalos League – but right now, there was nothing but a cause for celebration as they indulged themselves in the festivities, the good food and drink, the company of their best friends, and of course each other.

 _Just another holiday for me and my loved ones,_ Volan thought contentedly, and leaned forward to kiss Caitlin one more time.

-.-.-.-.-.

Silhouetted dramatically against the ivory moon that hung beautifully in the midnight sky, a trio of figures stood atop the chateau's roof, their capes flapping in the wind.

"So, how _did_ you know Team Flare would show up here?" Blaziken Mask rumbled imploringly.

"Well, Augustine said that the prize being given out at the party had something to do with Mega Evolution," Dexio reasoned, casually turning his Gallade-themed helmet over in his hands. "And after the incident a few days ago at the lab, we know that Team Flare is interested in it. So we suspected they'd make an appearance."

"Good thing we were right," nodded Sina, shaking her hair free of her own Garchomp-themed one. Then she let out a shuddering sigh of relief and admitted, "But I was so scared the entire time. I thought they were onto us!"

The three Masked Heroes of Kalos chuckled to themselves at the thought of the close call, then leapt into the sky and disappeared immediately, leaving no trace of themselves behind.

Even on Halloween, a superhero's work was never done.

-.-.-.-.-.

 **The setup for the Battle Chateau is based entirely on the one in the anime, not only because it's absolutely stunning but also because I never bothered with it in the games.**

 **Stephan and Bianca make a cameo, of course! It's not a holiday in the Legendverse without 'em! (Let's just forget that Bianca's Team Rocket costume is probably equivalent to someone from Earth dressing up as a Nazi…)**

 **I should also mention Ash and Serena, everyone's OTP and the closest to canon we've ever gotten… Any of you accusing me of making Serena OOC can just watch XY21, XY81, and/or XY83 to be reminded that she has no qualms about trying to catch Ash's eye. Besides, they're at a party, so she's probably just letting the excitement get to her.**

 **As for the costumes and such… I'm legitimately dying of laughter right now. You have no idea how much of a kick I get out of writing terrible references.**

 **Honestly, though, now that I've finished writing and proofreading this story, I find that I'm not satisfied with how it turned out. These past few days have been super-stressful with exams and important assignments piling up on me, and so a lot of the dialogue and action feels very forced. Maybe after my exams are done, I'll write another Halloween-related oneshot to try and get my writing motivation back.**

 **If any of you feel that this story was lackluster, don't hesitate to say so. Send your reviews and let me know where you think I went wrong, and I'll accept it. Thanks for reading, even though this Legendverse story is definitely not the best I've written.**


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